Creative Staff:
Story: Christos Gage
Art: Marc Borstel
Colors: Jordie Escuin Llorach
Letterer: Taylor Esposito
What They Say:
It’s all led up to this! Nyx has been weathering the struggle between her human and demon sides for the past four issues… (not to mention her entire life), and by the time this one’s over, she’ll have found an answer…or she’ll be dead! Probably at the hands of her father, the Mad God Chaos, who has whipped himself into shape after being a bit of a mess in issue #2 and is once again an unstoppable force of the universe. Has our story so far given Nyx anything that can save her, or has it all been a pointless journey of excessive drinking and violence? Like the meme says…why not both?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The opening arc of Nyx draws to a close as it sets things up for the next arc (and a skip-month to build in a bit of a buffer) and that works well. Thie series has been a surprise as Christos Gage’s work with it has delivered a pretty good experience considering how several Vampirella books have gone in some pretty non-fun directions lately. This one feels like a natural evolution and that Nyx is able to take a far better place in things on her own. Marc Borstel has a decent handle on the artwork with designs that work but some of it just feels awkward at times with how Nyx carries herself and some of the flow of the action. This installment took a bit to get used to this interpretation of Vampirella as the opening page facial design just left me really wary.
This one is basically the climax to the opening arc and it does leave me really curious and intrigued by where it can go from here. Nyx admits it herself but things play out in montage form here, which does make sense for those with long lives. Here, she’s using the two books to try and learn more about herself and how those halves of her work while also spending some time with a therapist. Not that the therapist is pleased by this but we see how it all works to give her the sense of self that she really needed in order to not bring the two sides together but to form that bond that keeps them from warring with each other. Though, perhaps, it could also be described as how to balance how they war with each other so that it allows Nyx to have a clear and full sense of control and understanding of herself to exist without falling to either side.
What this balance also does, which does not surprise her, is draw in her father, the Mad God. He’s delighted that she’s found this balance, something none of his other children have, and he hopes to basically use her as a minion to take over various worlds and dimensions as part of a series of conquests. She’s not exactly keen, as one might imagine, and that has us going with the standard third-act fight sequence. It plays out well as we see just how far Nyx has come in learning her skillset and while it may be a bit talkative, it delivers the goods. But we also see that while understanding herself she spent time understanding what he father would want out of her and has a pretty good bargain to try and tempt him with. One that has layers within layers even as simple as it seems, but it sets us up for the future in her teaching his future offspring how to control things as long as he leaves her and Earth alone. It’s not a deal that will lats – and both of them know that – but it starts a good storyline next issue.
In Summary:
Nyx has been the little series that has surpassed expectations pretty solidly with what it does. This storyline wraps up in what feels like an appropriate place instead of trying to extend things for another issue and that’s definitely a huge plus. Gage gives us a solidly confident Nyx while at the same giving us the kind of Mad God that you can just hear that right voice for and know that he’s got a good sense of humor that’s quick to anger. I love the way this unfolds overall and it has me curious to see how far down the path Nyx will go with her plans. It’s definitely a lot of fun that looks and reads well, making for an appealing experience for readers and myself.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 15+
Released By: Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: March 16th, 2022
MSRP: $3.99